A Surprise Gift
by Illusions of Insanity
Summary: Agent S really didn't expect to have a strange desire to head back to Goldenrod. After all, it wasn't mandatory to hand over the Houndoomite she found to Theodore Nayar, the boy she had teamed up with to defeat a few Rockets. Still here she was, heading out to give it to him even though she hates Houndooms. And just why is she including a bouquet in her delivery, anyway? (OCxOC)


The silence of the Johto Headquarters was like a security blanket, warm and inviting. As the young agent walked down another grey hallway, her mind raced on. It had been a while since she'd been in Johto, three months since to be exact. The last time she was here she had infiltrated a Rocket Base hidden away in the Goldenrod Underground, staged by a few stubborn members from the organization who refused to leave after the Goldenrod Takeover a few years ago. Against protocol she had accidentally dragged two civilians into the whole mess. The first one was a teenage girl from Unova named Cala. The black-haired Trainer had pretty good battling skills and was very helpful in taking out large swarms of Pokémon the cowardly grunts had sent their way. The second one had been another teenager, this one being a boy from the city of Goldenrod itself named Theodore. The boy did not have much confidence in battling, but he was pretty good at it nonetheless. Even so, working with him at first had been a major challenge, as the curly-haired boy had looked just like a Team Rocket spy who had wounded her with his Houndoom. It also didn't help matters that his partner Pokémon was a Houndoom by the name of Kerberos, either. Despite the rough start and the breaking of various rules, the trio had managed to take out the small pocket of villainy and emerge with few wounds to show for it. In fact, the agent could say that she had actually _gained_ a few things from the affair.

Three missions in Hoenn and a relatively busy week in Kalos later, the Youth Division member of the International Police was back home to Kanto. While she was having a quick visit in Viridian with her parents, she just couldn't shake the desire to head back to Goldenrod for a bit. Something kept dragging her thoughts back to the busy city of gold and distracting her from any catching up with her family. Eventually, the young agent gave in and headed on the first Magnet Train she could catch. Seeing as she first had to get permission to head aboveground for something besides family visits, she headed to the well-hidden International Police Headquarters of Johto, which was luckily for her still within the city. The brunette walked down another drab hall as a tranquil feeling washed over her. Now that she was here, it was as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She knew she had better things to do than wander around Goldenrod City. Still, the brunette couldn't shake the feeling of purpose as she stopped dead at the Communications Room.

The Communications Room was pretty much an overkill of a control room if there ever was one. With towering white walls and vast expanses of white underfoot, everything seemed to gleam under the vibrant lights above their heads. Blue screens stretched across the ocean of desks, each one providing the location and information gathered straight from the outside. Over a hundred individuals were hard at work at this early hour, eyes alert and taking in every digit of data they could. Every International Police base had at _least_ one of these rooms and with very good reason. It was in these rooms that agents out in the field held communication with agents back at base. These agents, called Operators, would provide a security link to those outside, giving calm advice and insight in missions without feeling the stress of being there themselves. Many missions would simply be impossible without a second input, which is only one of the reasons they were here. Along with providing a second brain, they also stored and gathered all of the data collected from the field in the form of reports. These frankly boring aspects of the job were one of their main focuses, thus removing the bogged down pace of previous decades of single-manned operations. Without Operators, Field Agents simply would not be what they were today.

Cold blue eyes drifted through the many Operators at work, searching for a certain male who would probably be napping at his desk. At least, that's what she expected him to do. To her surprise, a pink head of hair was bouncing back and forth between stacks of papers. At first, the agent couldn't believe the sight. The brunette had wholeheartedly expected her Operator to be slacking off and enjoying the last day of his break. They had a flight to Sinnoh to catch tomorrow and the teenage girl had half expected him to use his last day to pay a visit to his father in Pewter City, not hang around here and continue working. Still, the agent knew that only one boy would be stupid enough to mix up his hair dye _that_ badly. And so with a deep breath, the girl slowly headed down the slope that lead into the main walkway of the Communications Room.

Black boots resonated off of the floor as she slipped past the long rows of desks. A few heads lifted to see who was walking by, but their attention snapped right back to their work the second they realized it was not Looker or some other higher-up. With a drawn out exhale, the brunette placed a hand on her hip and leaned on her right leg. Short spikes of pink jumped up as the noise cut through the clacking of keyboards, beeps of programs and the general electronic bustle of the room. A pair of dull blues blinked as they found Agent S standing behind them, her much brighter blue eyes narrowed with what could easily be taken as irritation. Still the young Operator ignored it and stood up tall, slipping above her head by a mere inch. He knew better than anyone that her emotions could be deceiving; hardly ever did she _actually_ show the emotion plaguing her in a place like this.

"Heyo, Agent S." The teenager's voice was unusually chipper for the hour as he dusted off his hands, slapping them together to release the invisible specks of paper and other office-related irritants. "I didn't expect to see you in base this early in the morning." A pale hand slowly slipped to the white desk behind him as the boy leaned back, his eyes taking in the tight stance his partner was sporting. "I thought you would be training by now; it's really the only thing you do in the Underground."

"Well," she huffed, "I had a change of plans." The boy raised an eyebrow as her eyes sharpened into a glare. Agent S rose to her full height as her hand fell from its perch and instead swung at her side, nearly brushing against her brown handbag. "I decided that I would go aboveground for a while and enjoy Johto while I can." She tried not to show just how infuriating his new hair color was to her. It was Team Rocket pink, one of the worst colors she could ever see on a person. The instant she saw it, she associated it with the dim-witted grunts of the organization. It was a terrible color for a boy to have accidentally dyed his hair and not just because it was a common point of taunting. It messed with her head to see that shade of pink again; it was so deeply connected to Team Rocket at this point that she couldn't look at it and _not_ translate that into _grunt_.

The teen, unaware of her mental struggle, simply raised an eyebrow. "Heading up?" The Operator tilted his head in mock confusion before giving her a knowing smirk. "You wouldn't happen to be heading to Goldenrod, would you?" At his words, Agent S's face paled. She hadn't expected him to catch on so quickly. Had she been that suspicious? A growl emerged in her throat as he continued on with his jesting. "I should have known that you would go visit your little boyfriend, S."

"Shut up, Xavier." A frown instantly appeared on the pink-headed boy's face at the usage of his actual name. Agent S turned away from him before pulling out a green slip of paper. "I do _not_ have a boyfriend and I do not plan on having one." Her deep blues fluttered shut as she waved the slip in the air. "And before you ask, yes, Looker gave me the go-ahead. I'm all clear to spend the rest of the day aboveground if I wanted to." She then slowly turned back as she slipped the paper into her dark jean's front pocket. "I just came by to let you know."

"Aw, worried about me," he sneered. Another growl from the brunette just made Xavier laugh and shake his head. "Nah, I know you're just making sure I don't try to contact you while you're out there." Agent S glared at him as the victim of a messed up hairdye just put his hands behind his head and leaned back, his lower back pressing against his desk. "Don't worry. I'll keep the line shut off so I don't have to hear any mushy stuff." He then lowered his hands and turned away, his right hand raised as to wave her off. "Go have fun in the city for a few hours. I'll be just fine down here."

Agent S stared for a moment before giving him a nod and walking away. Her footsteps bounced off of the bleached world around her as she slipped down the hall and left the Johto International Police Headquarters.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Agent S slipped out from a supposedly 'broken' warp tile in the Global Trade Center. The Trainers around her paid her no mind as they excitedly chatted on about their hopes of a quick and successful trade with someone else, perhaps all the way on the other side of the world. Blue eyes narrowed in determination as she weaved her way through the crowd of individuals and calmly walked out the front entrance of the grand building of glass.

The bright light of noon burned her skin as she stopped between the twin fountains. To her left was the road leading to the heart of Goldenrod, filled with people of all sorts and drowning in their collective noise. The brunette's sleeveless black shirt suddenly made her feel exposed as the young agent pulled out a Pokéball from her belt. With a halfhearted toss, the capsule burst open and let out a vibrant red light. The crimson light rushed for the ground before morphing into a short, canine-like body with long round ears and a matching tail. Crimson eyes soon glowed behind the dying pink of the Pokéball's release as a black body came into focus. With a shake of the head to ease out of the transfer, the short Pokémon let out a bark. Standing beside her was an Umbreon, his yellow rings glowing in questioning before he leaped up to stand on her shoulder.

Agent S smiled slightly as the Moonlight Pokémon rubbed his cheek against hers in a formal greeting. The brunette then let out a sigh before fixing her white fedora, making sure that the Eeveeultion did not knock it off into the gushing water behind her. "Tobias." The Umbreon lifted his ears in acknowledgement of his name before easing his posture and resting beside her. She then slowly started walking down the road, blending in with the crowd with silent steps despite wearing a pair of heavy boots.

 _"Hoping for a lookout, eh?"_ Using his Psychic as a mental link, the Moonlight Pokémon stared at his Trainer. The brunette just laughed and shook her head. Confusion swirled in his bright red eyes as the Pokémon tilted his head. _"No?"_ His voice was baffled as they managed to join with the mainland portion of the city. The loud voice of Goldenrod seemed to pound against them as they walked eastward, heading towards the commercial district. _"Odd; I could have sworn that was what you were thinking of."_

"I've got other business to attend to today, Tobias," Agent S muttered. Her voice was low to avoid any odd looks; apparently very few Trainers ever bothered to form a close enough bond to communicate with their Pokémon or even try to use Psychic for something other than an attack. "We'll have to stop by a few shops in town, but I'm certain that it won't be too much of a bother—" Her voice trailed off as the noise of the crowd abruptly increased. Blue eyes lifted from her partner to find a cluster of people cheering out in excitement, forming a tight barrier of bodies.

Annoyance flashed in her eyes as the young agent walked up to get a better look. Managing to find a spot between a Picnicker and a Beauty, the brunette found the cause of the commotion. The young Champion of Johto was having a chat with a teenager with red hair around her age, both of them captured in a heated discussion. The pigtailed brunette absently recalled her Skarmory and waved at the crowd, summoning the delighted yells of the audience. The redhead she was talking to seemed uncomfortable with all of the attention; his stance was tight with crossed arms and legs ready to run while his face burst into a bright red. Lyra Soul, teenage Champion, gave another wave to the gathered people before calmly walking through the masses, her bright-haired companion following behind with sputters of stubborn words and denial. Amusement took over as Agent S found the source to be nothing more than a public display of affection between the Champion and her boyfriend; those had been happening a bit more often as of late from what she's heard.

 _"Well,"_ Tobias sighed, _"That was entirely worth the blockage of traffic."_ The human blockade slowly followed after the famous brunette, leaving the streets to the commercial district free of any obstruction. The International Police agent's black boots once again made not a sound as she returned to her walking, chuckling the disturbance aside. _"Seeing the Champion kiss her boyfriend is totally worth preventing any and all travel through Goldenrod's main streets."_

"Hey, it's their choice." The shadows of the towering buildings covered the two as they made their way to East Avenue, one of the busiest streets in the whole city. "If they want to stand around and watch them kiss, then they can do so." Her blue eyes fogged over with thought as she looked down at her boots. Was she really doing this? A few months ago, she could have never seen herself heading down this street with her current mission. In fact, she would have laughed at the very notion before sicking her Umbreon on the apparent liar. Now she was heading down East Avenue with only one type of shop in mind, hoping to get there before any sort of weekend rush made shopping impossible. With a great sigh, the young brunette stopped in front of the shop of her thoughts and braced herself for the horrible ordeal that was lying in front of her.

For right in front of Agent S was a flower shop.

 _"...Uh...A flower shop?"_ Tobias slowly turned towards his Trainer with utter confusion as the brunette just stared at her boots, a light blush taking over her face and nose. _"Are we in the right place? Whitney's Gym is to the left, you know."_ The agent avoided his eye as she instead took a deep breath to try and calm herself, taking in the sweet mingling of countless breeds of flowers as she did so. It was a pleasant scent; she could distinctly smell a bit of lavender above the bunch. A pang of nostalgia hit her as other scents became a bit more familiar to her; lilacs, lily-of-the-valley and standard lilies were mixing with the more familiar smell of roses, reminding her of the last time she had been in Goldenrod—albeit a not so pleasant section of that so called trip. The last time she had taken in those aromas was when she was poisoned and Cala had gone against her wishes and used an Aromatherapy on her, even if it meant putting her to sleep. In hindsight, she was thankful for the gesture. Still, it didn't make her any less irritated at the time.

"Welcome!" The brunette jumped at the sound of another voice. Looking up, she quickly found a young woman with black hair walking out from behind a few daffodils. "How may I help you?" Agent S struggled to find words as her cheeks burned. She could do this. She had faced off against her worst fear in the form of a snapping Houndoom and managed to get out alive with two civilians—unharmed, she might add. Still that did not save her from the murder of her pride that standing here in front of a flower shop. Her tongue was tied tight; there was not a single sound that escaped her mouth without sounding like the squeak of a baby Pokémon.

The florist gave the teenager a knowing look as Tobias just glanced between them with confusion. "Ah, I see." Before the girl could find her voice and claim that she did _not_ in fact see why she was here, the black-haired woman walked away and ducked behind a outdoor display of roses. Shame burned on the International Police agent's face as the woman started to pick out a few roses. "You're here to get a few flowers for someone special, am I right?" That burning on her face quickly became utter humiliation as the shopkeeper walked back with a handful of red roses. "The standard usually does the trick, you know."

"N-No!" Relief swirled in the brunette's mind as she suddenly found her voice. The black-haired woman raised an eyebrow as the teenager shifted in place and tried to ignore the tight clench in her chest. "I-I mean, I'm not here for... _that_." Her hand quickly pointed to the dozen roses before distracting itself with scratching her Umbreon's chin. "I-I'm not... _We're_ not..."

Understanding quickly lit up the woman's grey eyes as a smirk appeared on her face. Agent S looked up to find the woman nodding and turning back towards the outdoor flowers. "Ah, I see now. You're _'just friends'_ , are you?" The words were strained with humor as she returned the red roses and instead reached for another color. "Not to worry, I see plenty of kids your age in the exact situation you're in." The young agent felt her cheeks cool down just a bit as Tobias just watched on, taking in the events with a cool composure. The Umbreon was starting to understand the situation now and he was quite amused by the conflicted look on his Trainer's face. Before the girl could decide to run away, the woman returned with a bouquet of yellow roses with a single red rose in the center, the deep, blood-colored flower still in a bud. Agent S looked up from the flowers in confusion only to find the young woman with a knowing, almost teasing sort of smirk on her face.

"A lot of people have come here with the same problem as you, sweetheart." Before the brunette could reject the usage of such a nickname in referring to _her_ , the black-haired florist kept talking. "You don't really know what you want just yet, but you do know that you at least like the person. That's good," she laughed. "Everything starts somewhere, even if that start wasn't perfect or what you were expecting." Agent S just pulled down her fedora in embarrassment, hoping that the shadow of the brim would hide her eyes and perhaps the burning of her cheeks.

With a sharp clearing of her throat, the young agent took the dozen roses and quickly paid the woman, accepting her choice of flowers. The florist gave her a thankful smile before turning away and heading back to the assortment of flowers in front of the shop. Blue eyes focused on the single red rose with a swirl of many different feelings before lifting back to the woman. "Excuse me." Her voice was still shaking with embarrassment, but the shopkeeper heard her anyway. The brunette lifted her chin with a desperate attempt to save face before her eyes gave in and looked away. "..Do you have any ribbon, by any chance?"

The florist just smiled and nodded.

* * *

A few minutes later found the duo inside of a small park in the heart of the commercial district, resting among the artificial greens and man-made lake that tried to balance against the heavy pollution of Johto's biggest city. A few Pidgey chirped out as the afternoon sun peeked out from behind a metal tower and sent golden beams down to the struggling grass around them. Agent S was sitting on a parkbench, her eyes fixated on the bouquet in her grasp. Tobias was now sitting beside her with curious eyes, watching his partner as she slipped her bag off of her shoulder and unzipped her items pouch. Her right hand fumbled inside before it pulled out a shimmering stone, the small object stealing the minimal rays of sunshine and holding them within a black and orange swirl. The brunette watched the light dance inside of the small stone before smiling at it.

The object was a Mega Stone straight from the Kalos region. Agent S was familiar with the objects; she had gathered a few to use for herself before and was even wearing a black Mega Bracelet on her wrist as she sat there. The brunette had stumbled upon the stone by accident, finding it inside a bit of rubble she had knocked aside during a training session. The orange and black mixture baffled her at first. She couldn't tell what Pokémon it was for right away. Only when she tucked it away in her bag beside her other assorted stones did she recognize this precious object as a Houndoomite, the Mega Stone required for a Houndoom's Mega Evolution.

The brunette didn't own a Houndoom; after being bitten by one years ago and still struggling against the neverending mental pain the bites were famous for, she could not bring herself to ever go near one, let alone train one. However, she did know someone who did. Theodore, the black-haired boy from Goldenrod who had managed to find a place beside her in the Team Rocket Underground, had Kerberos, his faithful Houndoom. Beside the boy, she had grown a bit less terrified of the Darkness Pokémon. Kerberos never attacked her and she eventually let go of the assumption that the Houndoom would. She may not have a use for the stone, but Theodore did. He could use the stone; his bond with Kerberos was nearly as strong as her own bond with Tobias.

Granted, he didn't actually own a Key Stone yet. Agent S narrowed her eyes against the refractions of sunlight before pulling out a small note she had written. It wasn't much really. All it the note said was the basics; that this Mega Stone was for Kerberos and that Theodore had a better use for it than her. Besides this part of the message was a bit of a bolder statement. The thought of the second half of the message made her cheeks burn like miniature flames.

Pulling away from her thoughts, the young agent carefully wrapped the silky teal ribbon around the stone, tying it to the single red rose. It would be hard to miss, seeing as it was the only flower of its color. Taking a minute to tie the rest of the gifted material around the bouquet, the brunette stood up with a determined face. She could handle something as trivial as delivering a gift...to a boy...that's she hardly known for more than three months. The longer Agent S thought about it, the worse the idea sounded. Still, it wasn't like she had any other use for the stone.

With a great sigh, Agent S motioned for her Umbreon to return to his perch. Tobias returned to her shoulder with a neat jump, landing perfectly on the small space without a single sound. The Trainer and her Pokémon then turned away and set their sights on the residential area. The sun slowly disappeared behind a sea of grey, smokey clouds as the light faded behind metal skeletons and grim streets. The overwhelming noise of the city took over once again as they slowly looked for the apartment building the agent had written down that morning.

* * *

 _"Still can't believe that you looked up his address,"_ Tobias chuckled. His crimson eyes watched as his Trainer's pale cheeks exploded with color once again. Her nervous tendencies had returned within the last five minutes, but they had managed to find the required dwelling place anyway. As they walked into the lobby, Agent S let out a humph and tried to avoid her Umbreon's eye.

"It's not like I was snooping in private areas, smart-guy." Her fingers rubbed against the smooth surface of the ribbon in a silent attempt of soothing her jumbled nerves. Was her heart _supposed_ to be throbbing and racing at the thought of handing these flowers over to Theodore? ...And the Mega Stone. She was here to deliver a _Mega Stone_ , not roses. The flowers were just a carrier. Blue eyes shifted back to the black Pokémon as her similarly colored boots thumped against the first step in the bottom flight of stairs.

"Ms. Joelle Nayar had her name and address in the apartment building's directory," she pressed. Her cheeks were still burning as she shifted a shaking hand to the guide-rail and walked up the metal staircase. "Theodore's last name is the exact same. Thankfully, there's only one family of Nayars in this city. Otherwise, delivering these would be a pain." Tobias shot her a mocking look that seemed to scream _'you're defending yourself again'_ as Agent S looked back to the vast expanse of metal above her head. "If they didn't want to be found, they wouldn't have put their names on a plaque."

The Umbreon on her shoulder rumbled with a laugh as they passed the first flight of stairs and moved on to the second one, heading up to a slightly higher floor. _"Theodore never gave you his last name, you know."_ Embarrassment quickly made her scorched cheeks suffer further as her own partner seemed to tease her about actually having _anything_ to do with someone of the opposite gender after hating and avoiding them for over five years or more. _"You certainly had to do a bit of digging to find that out."_

"I-It's only so I can deliver the Mega Stone," Agent S squeaked. Her blue eyes shifted back to the metal stairs as she silently prayed that the desired floor would be closer than it was. "I didn't look in any private files to find out his name. Knowing that he worked at the Bicycle Shop in town was enough to figure out his last name." Relief bubbled up above her nervousness as she found the sign for the third floor right in front of her. Ignoring how her Moonlight Pokémon laughed and claimed that asking the owner of the shop for his last name was a bit out of common courtesy, her hand fumbled on a golden doorknob before releasing herself to the wooden hallway of the third floor.

Her black boots seemed to scream out against the hardwood floor as if it was a game of _'Be Louder than the Other Foot'_. Agent S cringed as her blue eyes kept scanning the golden number on each door, searching for the one that held his number. Her chest tightened as she stopped dead in front of a red door. The number thirty-seven gleamed in the light above her head as the brunette shifted on her feet. Her gut was drowning in fear and discomfort. Part of her mind was screaming at her to run away and just forget the whole idea. Perhaps the Mega Stone could be sold for a bit of Poké or even turned into a neat piece of jewelry? The agent shook her head. No, she had to go through with her plan. She would hate herself for who knows how long if she backed out now.

With a deep breath, the teenager gently gripped the bouquet and reached out with a quivering resolve. Her knuckles were quiet as they thumped against the crimson door before suddenly increasing in sound and frequency. The brunette then pulled away as she heard a female voice call out on the other side. Agent S looked to her partner as the sound of faint footsteps crept into her mind. All she had to do was stand here a bit longer... Her heart was pounding so loud that it was echoing in her ear. Any second now...

Her determination suddenly died.

Agent S quickly but gently placed the flowers on the floor and rushed out of sight, her thin form leaning against the wall of the hallway just far enough to avoid being seen but being able to spot whoever came to the door. Tobias let out a few muttered complaints as his Trainer fought down her overwhelming cowardice. Her mind was screaming at her to get back in front of that door, but her feet remained like cinderblocks. She wasn't going anywhere.

Just then a woman stepped out from the doorway. Agent S watched on as a woman with black hair and dark eyes looked around in a bit of confusion, searching for the person who had knocked on her door. It was obvious just by looking at her that she was Theodore's mother; they were remarkably similar in the looks department. Joelle Nayar's eyes slowly drifted down to the flowers on her doorstep. Her mouth opened with a shocked sound before she happily picked up the roses. She took a moment to inspect them only to stumble upon the recipient's name written on a little tag. The woman's emotions switched to confusion as she found _her son's_ name on the paper tag, written in Agent S' own hand.

The black-haired woman turned around and entered her apartment once again, calling for her son. The brunette just managed to catch Theodore's voice as the door shut behind her. The young agent let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding before turning to her Umbreon. That was it. The flow—er, Mega Stone—had been delivered properly. Agent S was free to turn around and go home. Her hands slipped into her pockets only for her right hand to brush up against a piece of paper. Her heart sank as she realized that it was the note.

"I forgot to attach the note," she hissed. Her partner shifted behind her before jumping to the floor with gentle paws. The brunette hissed again in muted panic as Tobias stopped in front of apartment thirty-seven and tilted his head towards the door. "Tobias!" Agent S was still speaking through clenched teeth as she pulled out the note. "What are you doing?"

 _"Knock on the door again and give them the note,"_ he stated calmly. Blue eyes widened in bewilderment as she processed his words. Just as she was about to open her mouth in refusal, the Moonlight Pokémon shifted on his paws and shot her a stern but loving glare. _"If you cannot face them, just drop the note on the floor and hide again."_ The brunette thought about this for a moment before nodding her head and agreeing with his plan. She just missed the look of sly triumph on Tobias' face as she walked back and knocked on the door again. Her throbbing heart dropped into her stomach as she found a lighter pair of footsteps heading their way, these sounds _much_ closer to the door than last time.

"Crap!" Agent S struggled to get past her Umbreon as she found someone coming to open the door again. "They were right there!" She just barely managed to step over her partner before she found that she had no time left to hide. She would be in plain sight by the time they opened the door. "Oh crap," the brunette hissed. "I'm going to be seen—"

 _"Relax,"_ Tobias laughed. The young agent looked down to find her Umbreon standing tall with crimson eyes gleaming with victory. _"I can create an illusion with my Psychic to hide you."_ Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion as the sound of her heart swarmed her eardrums. _"You just stay where you are and I'll do the rest."_

"I thought only Ghost Types and the Zorua line could make illusions, Tobias." Her voice was tense with questioning and the fear of being caught.

 _"Nah,"_ he chuckled. The Moonlight Pokémon stood at his full height as his Trainer nervously pulled on her black shirt. _"They just have a bit more skill in it then other Pokémon. Psychic Types and Psychic users can manipulate it enough to hide, but not enough to transform a large area."_ Agent S gave him a scolding look as he just proudly inflated his chest. _"Just trust me."_

A nagging feeling in the brunette's mind told her to ignore what he was saying. After all, both Tobias and her Braixen Akuto had gone against her wishes and/or lied to her in some way in their last mission in Goldenrod. She didn't quite understand why, but they found her shaking relations to Theodore humorous. Agent S supposed it had to do with the fact that she had little to no experience with boys, but that still didn't excuse it. They had both sabotaged her pride in some way relating to Theodore and she was not too keen on having another dose of that. However, what choice did she have? Against all of her knowledge of Pokémon and the shrieking voice in her thoughts, Agent S stayed put. She was putting a lot of faith in the Moonlight Pokémon; she was literally just to the right of their front door. All the person would have to do is look to their right and they would look her right in the eye. Still she swallowed her fear and waited for Tobias to follow through.

The Umbreon grinned as he shook his ears. The yellow bands on his legs, ears and tail glowed brightly as he seemed to channel his Psychic energy. His Trainer shifted nervously and held her breath, hoping to escape this scot-free. Just as Tobias opened his eyes, the door swung open. It seemed like Agent S' heart stopped beating as she found _Theodore_ himself stepping out this time. The boy with short, curly black hair looked down to find the note on the floor. His amber eyes narrowed in confusion before he picked it up and gave it a quick read. Blue eyes slammed shut as she found her mind echoing what she had written down.

 _Found this Mega Stone on my latest trip to Kalos. Recognize the color? It's a Houndoomite! I don't really have a use for it—for obvious reasons—but I know that you and Kerberos could use it. You two are pretty close to each other, you know. You would have to outfit him with a Mega charm of some sort to hold it and you would have to find a Mega charm of your own, but I could take you to Kalos for that. Trust me, that thrill you get when you connect with your partner is completely worth the trouble._  
 _Not to worry, I can take your mother with us, too. I know that you don't really like leaving her in the dark._

Her message wasn't the thing that was making her freak out though. The thing that was worrying her the most was the fact that she had put her _Pokégear number_ at the bottom of the note. Leaving her number...that could easily be taken in a different way, right? The thought of how her gift and message could be twisted was making her chest hurt. The brunette's heart burst back to life with a painful increase in pulses as he pulled away from the note and seemed to say a few words. Her heartbeat was too loud this time; she couldn't understand a word of what he said.

Theodore slowly looked to his left before shaking his head. For a fraction of a second, Agent S thought that perhaps her plan had worked after all. Theodore would turn around and go back inside, thinking over her written words and perhaps placing the roses in a vase. He would happily take the Mega Stone to Kerberos and show his partner the prize before stowing it away in a safe place. Then she would leave and head back to base, putting this affair behind her until the day came that Theodore acted on her offer.

Suddenly, Tobias flicked his right ear.

Almost as if on command, Theodore stopped and turned his head to the right. The black-haired boy immediately flinched as the brunette did the same. It was in that painful heartbeat that she realized that her Umbreon had tricked her. He hadn't been trying to hide her at all. Instead, he had been using his Psychic powers to establish a mind-link between himself and Theodore. She should have noticed that he had an undertone of blue in his bright red eyes. Instead, she had let herself been played like a fool. Why had she even amused Tobias's silly idea? It was foolish of her to say the very least. The brunette muttered a few choice words under her breath as a bright blush brought a splash of color to her pale skin.

Theodore Nayar just tilted his head in confusion, the note still tightly clutched in his right hand. The black curls on his head seemed to bob as he slammed his eyes shut and shook his head in disbelief. He opened his bright amber eyes to find that this was _not_ in fact a figment of his imagination. Agent S was _really_ standing in his apartment building's hallway and staring at him with frustrated, embarrassed eyes. She had _actually_ left him a bouquet of roses and a shiny Mega Stone for Kerberos and most importantly, she had _truly_ left him a note with an offer to take him and his family to Kalos to get the things necessary to Mega Evolve his Houndoom. His mouth opened for a split second before he managed to say only a few words.

"A-Agent S? What are you doing here...?"

Well, there was no easy way out of this one.

* * *

 _Author's Note: A hinted romance fic for a pairing of original characters from a story that's not even done yet? Yup, I went there. In case you were curious, the two characters seen here—Agent S and Theodore Nayar—are from_ "Engine Failure".

 _So, enjoy some Panicshipping (Theodore and Agent S) with a bit of mentions to the actual plot they're from! Hurray for random ideas!_

 _...and I still didn't reveal her actual name yet. /sly grin/_


End file.
